An Irish woman and her Egyptian husband have died following an apparent suicide pact on the Red Sea coast in Egypt.

Jennifer Marie Boutros (60) and her husband Peter George Boutros (43) died by drowning in a swimming pool in a villa in Hurghada.

Ms Marie held dual citizenship for Ireland and Egypt, and was understood to have lived in Egypt for a number of years. Major General Hossam Kamal, director of the Red Sea Security, initially received a report that an Egyptian citizen and his Irish wife had both been found dead in a swimming pool in a villa which was owned by their friend.

The bodies were recovered and then taken to the morgue in Hurghada General Hospital.

Investigations showed that security personnel initially suspected that the incident was a criminal act.

However, there was nothing stolen from the villa - nor were there traces of any other people in the vicinity.

The fingerprints taken from the villa were confirmed to have belonged to the dead couple, and no other fingerprints were found.

The security services found a video recorded by the couple which suggested that they wanted to end their lives.

A camera installed on a stand in the middle of the swimming pool was found, which had a complete video of the incident.

The inspector of health issued a report which said that the cause of the deaths was due to drowning.

A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said: "We are aware of the case and are providing consular assistance."